Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-06-24

locksmth was sent for but he could do
noUhlng with II, and at length an expert
was summoned, who proceeded s, sienna
tically and at last got the door open. In
the course of these operations he made
curious discovery, to which, how
ever, little weight was attached at the
Ilme' Underneath the combination plate
he found small hole, drilled in such
way as to come in contact with the tumb-
;ers OF the lock. The mouth of the hole
had been filed with putty of the same
color as the surface of the door, so that it
was only noticeable when the interior of
the lock was laid bare.
Such a revelation might well have
aroused the suspicious of bank manager,
and 1t did lead to some speculation. which.
however, resulted in nothing. The ex
pert, whose time was too much occupied
TO allow of his spending any of it on sur-
misses, probably thought that the bank
was aware of the existence of the hole
and that it was made in some former at
tempt to correct a disorder in the mechan-
ism. The bank, on the other hand, failed
| to realize the real gravity of the revela
ton, owing to its having been so indiffer-
emily eterred to by the expert 1t was
| afterward remembered that a'portly gen
tleman, about 40 years of age, wearing an
amethyst ring on his finger, had happened
to enter the bank at the time the expert
was at work to get change for a 800 bill
and that he remained, an interested snec.
tator of the proceedings for a couple of
hours
1T is at least reasonable conjecture -
observed the detective, that the money
! you have lost found its way out thronob
the hole drilled under the combination-
plate, small though it was. That hole was
drilled by burglars and in order to make
It, 1t seems certain that there must nave
been some accomplices inside. 1t is true
that they carried off nothing but that 10
helther here nor there. They NAV have
| been disturbed at their work or they NAV
have only wished to look over the pround
before going at it in earnest. At all events
II supports the theory that this robbery
has been planned for some time past Ana
1t that be SO, it renders the task of mn
rravelllng the affair much more difficnit
Had every one who had anything to do
with the doors of the bank or of the vanlt
peen Swallowed we might by this time
nave been in position to act y
I'VE can, however, begin to sbado,y
them now" remarked director,
There IS great difference in the situa.
ton now" was the reply. Before tbe
money was here and the thieves were NOT
thieves are naturally gone with II and
some guilty employe, whoever he NAV he
Will be on his good behavior for a IonC,,
while to come. And even could we fi2
upon any person of whose guilt we were
norally certain, 1t would by no means
to the satisfaction of jury. = ''''
How IS that 2" inquired the direc-
tor. ieo-
Because, next to their plans for ar
comprising the wrong itself bank bur
glars bestow their chief mains mo-
schemes for escaping conviction and mr.
rest mat Is as much part of their regu-
lar business as wrecking a safe. For one
witness that we could bring forward to
Identify man there will be half a dozen
n n oil
our best" ''-4 u0
We place entire reliance in your ener-
gy and sagaclty," was the reply "Nucb
OF the stolen property must have been in
the form of registered securities, and
these, presume, can be traced"
No doubt, if an attempt is made to nc
gotate them. But that is at least doubt
full. These burglars are probably OLD |
hands and know what they are about
The usual course in such matters is 70
the thieves to open negotiations with
view to ettectlng a compromise The
will offer to return the securities on cor
dltlon OF receiving certain percentage OF \
their face value. And | may as well ask
you, right here, whether you would be
disposed to entertain any such propo-
| sal :"
The directors consulted together a few
moments. ,
I'VE are unanimously against any forr
of compromise" said the director whtV
nau previously spoken, turning to the de |
tectlve. Our wish Is that the thieye
should be vigorously pursued and, if DOS
slble, brought to justice. Meanwhile we
are very much pleased at the conclusion
YOU have arrived at"
The detective bowed an acknowledge
ment. II VIII take my measures at onceu
ne said, rising Meanwhile should ad-
Use your obtaining correct schedule of
lOur losses, printing them in the form of
circular aud sending copies to every
uanking institution and police station in
TIE country. BY the way, have you an
a proXlmate id "a VIII It your losses are :"
The clerks have been at work eXamin-
N the books was the answer. They
should have nearly finished by this time.
lht amount stolen must be considerable
not far short of a million, should say"
vt this moment there was a knock at
The .loor and the head clerk entered He
had sheet of paper in his hand and his
ttoe was pale and grave.
What is it, Osborne ~ the director de-
mauted.
"A summary of the amount stolen, re-
pied he clerk, in a low voice.
Well, what is it AS much n a mil
lion ~
Yheuan's lips trembed and his voice
fallereC as he read these words from his
paper Amount stolen in securities and
bonds, 70 million eight hundred thon.
sand DOL ars In cash, $40, 600. Total two
million ght hundred and forty thousand
dollars
The directors looked at one another in
dismay This meant suspension.
(To be COntinued.)